Setting the Scene
Prologue There is a tale in Soul Society that dates back eons... Before the Gotei 13 and its fierce Captains ruled from on high in the Seireitei..before the Royal Guard and the current Spirit King ruled... A line of Shinigami existed, appearing when the need was great, whose life was devoted to restoring the "Balance of Souls" to the universe. These Shinigami were unique from all the others for they possessed the inborn ability to go beyond a Bankai - "Shukai", it was called. An impossibility for any other Shinigami. When one rose, they were called the "Strongest Shinigami of their Age". With their immense powers, they prevented the end of the world time and time again by balancing the souls in the three planes of existence. However... With the birth of the current Spirit King, and the rise of the Gotei 13, no more of these Shinigami appeared. Those in Soul Society thought them all gone, and after centuries of not appearing, they were regarded as mere myth. A thing from a time long ago, in a fantasy world. However, after the foundation of the Gotei 13, a prophecy was given by a woman from what would become Reiji Maigo... "When the come to an end, a Shinigami will come to prominence and outshine the rest." "Born in the , he will rise to and save the World of the Spirits from great evil." "Never the less, will banish him. For they fear his power." "But the Shinigami will regain his strength and persevere in his exile. The power of his desire will rally many to his cause. They will believe in him and he in them, and together they shall protect their world time and time again." "However, this will prove his undoing, and his very friend will be the loss of his powers, but he will regain them for his friends nonetheless. And when that happens, the evil one will hasten his return." "And on that day, the don of the last Shukai user will arise. In the face of tremendous despair and the collapse of the world, he shall save the World of the Spirits once again by balancing the souls." "A time of peace follows. A time of death after that. He will be the last of the Shukai. But with his victory, the souls shall never again become unbalanced. Such is the way peace comes to reign...." -- "Tomes of the Ancients", page 546 A Meeting of the Top Echelon No sun. A chilling wind. Rumbles in the distance. A storm was approaching... Not the kind of day Eighth Division captain, Raian Getsueikirite, was hoping for. He sat at his desk, in his office, with his window open, behind a mound of paperwork. Missions needed to be assigned, reports filed, and expenses accounted for. His lieutenant, Kujaku Kuchiki, was currently on assignment, so the task fell to Raian to finish the paperwork. Raian was buried in a mission expense report when the door to his office swung open. He looked up in time to notice the long blond mop of Captain as he entered the room and walked to mid-room before stopping. "Hope this ain't a bad time, Raian-san." Shinji said; a hint of concern in his voice. "It's rare for you to make visits here, Hirako-san. I expect it is urgent. Have a seat." Raian replied, motioning to a chair in front of his desk - and his mountain of paperwork. "Geez!" Shinji whined as he noticed the stacks, "Never a dull moment around here, eh?" "What is it you need from me, Hirako-san?" Raian asked after Shinji had taken his seat. "Frankly, its about . He's called an emergency Captain's Council." Shinji replied, folding his hands in front of his face Raian's eyes narrowed, "Impossible. I didn't see a Hell Butterfly, nor a notice of summons today." "I told ya, it's an emergency meetin'." Shinji repeated. "I only just got the news myself...." Raian caught on to Shinji's shift in tone. He was dodging something. Hirako wouldn't have bothered taking a seat or coming to see him personally if it was just to inform him of a Captain's Council. He'd have just had one of Raian's officers do it. "What are you not telling me, Shinji." Raian said, switching to using Shinji's first name to denote his seriousness. A bead of sweat dropped from Shinji's forehead and he gulped, "Well, the reason I came to tell you is... the lieutenant of the Tenth Division... has been murdered...!" Raian's heart stopped. His breathing slowed. Eyes glazed over. Shinji looked up, pain and anxiety clear in his eyes as well, "What I'm trying to say is... Mashū Getsueikirite is no more." Death in the Seireitei The halls of the First Division's barracks were deathly silent. Yamamoto, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, sat at the head of the meeting of the thirteen captains. It was many minutes before anyone spoke, but Yamamoto did eventually break the silence with his commanding and powerful voice. "I have called this meeting of the thirteen captains to announce the murder of Tenth Division lieutenant, Mashū Getsueikirite. Both a relative and his superior officer are in this room, so I expect respect to be given to them, and self-control from them for the duration of this meeting. Captain will elaborate on the situation." Yamamoto spoke. Twelfth Division captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, stepped out and faced Yamamoto and the rest of the council. "At approximately 4:17 this evening, Tenth Division First Response Team, of which Lieutenant Getsueikirite was the head of, encountered an unidentified enemy in the fifty-sixth district of the Rukongai while on routine patrol. The battle lasted fifteen minutes, during which time, all but one member of the team was killed. From the reiatsu gathered at the scene by members of my division, the culprit has been determined to have been an Arrancar of near Espada-level." Kurotsuchi explained, drawing gasps from the other captains. "Furthermore, we have deduced that Lieutenant Getsueikirite released the Bankai of his Zanpakutō and fought his hardest, until his untimely demise, against said Arrancar." Kurotsuchi looked down from his report and proceeded to glance across the room. Raian's head was bowed and his hair covering his eyes. No reaction could be read from him, so Kurotsuchi quickly moved on. "Ninth Division Captain, , should have more information on this investigation." Kurotsuchi finished, regaining his spot in the formation as Kensei took the floor. "The Ninth Division has questioned the only surviving witness of the attack." Kensei began. "She confirms the Twelfth Division's assumption of an Arrancar enemy, but it was what she said next that caught our attention. She claims the Arrancar mentioned that he was returning to Akujin, a Shinigami fugitive long thought dead; at the hands of our own Captain Getsueikirite nonetheless." Raian's eye have widened, though no one can see it from beneath his hair. Akujin had survived?! And if he had, why is he only now surfacing?! Many questions spun in the Shinigami's skull. "It is my opinion, fellow captains, that Akujin is alive and well, and is behind the deaths that have occurred today. If that is the case, Soul Society is in very grave danger." Kensei concluded. Yamamoto shut his ancient eyes and stroked his long grey beard. "Very well, this is an order of the Captain-Commander!" he bellowed, "All captains are to prepare their division for the defense of Soul Society and the possibility of conflict! Eighth and Ninth Divisions will go straight into wartime preparations. They will be departing in three days for Hueco Mundo to investigate these claims!" All captains voiced their approval, all except for Raian. He had been listening, but could not bring himself to respond. He would find the Arrancar responsible, when he went to Hueco Mundo, and the slaughter it. Akujin would share a similar fate if he was still alive. That he knew for sure. Pyre for the Dead Outside, in the Seireitei courtyard, a funeral pyre of wood was constructed with Mashū's body sitting atop it. Hundreds of Shinigami, mostly members of the Eighth and Tenth Divisions, were gathered around it as the pire was lit aflame, sending cinders and hot smoke into the air. Raian found himself at the front of the crowd, mourning silently; unable to say much, or even cry. Mashū's captain, , stepped up next to him and placed his hand on Raian's shoulder. "My deepest condolences for your loss." Hitsugaya murmured, sorrow apparent in his voice as well. "I'm sure you don't need to be reassured of this, but your brother was a fantastic soldier. After 's departure, I didn't think another Shinigami could take her place as lieutenant. When I returned from my leave and took the reigns of the Tenth Division again, I kept your brother on as my lieutenant, and he proved me wrong. He was a fine man." Raian hung his head, refusing to look his colleague. Not out of disrespect, however, but because he literally could not do it. Hitsugaya seemed to understand, though. He removed his hand from Raian's shoulder and glared at the pyre. "Don't worry... we'll avenge him." Hitsugaya swore silently. "I know." Raian snarled, his eyes set ablaze by the inferno before him. Assault on the Human World The approaching storm burst from overhead, a downpour quickly overtaking the Seireitei and putting out the tremendous flames of the pyre - leaving nothing but a smoldering ruin in the courtyard. Raian was on his way back to his barracks, his mind still spinning, as if in a daze. The loss had hit him harder than he could've ever imagined. His brother was everything he had gotten strong for. The very reason he had become a Shinigami and, yet, in his moment of need, Raian failed to protect him. Now, on top of this, he had to complete his duty of setting his division into wartime mode. The stress of it all was causing an ache, like that of a knife in his chest, and it was almost too much for the young captain to bear. He reached his barracks, but would not be permitted entrance, for just to his left, a Senkaimon opened - shattering the very fabric of the dimension, and releasing a familiar figure; Yūbi Shikizaki. Yūbi was visibly disturbed and even seemed frightened. He immediately took note of Raian's presence and ran to him as fast as his tired legs would carry him. "Raian! Raian!" he shouted, collapsing just before he reached his startled friend. Raian caught Yūbi, a look of concern filling his face and temporarily drowning his misery, "Yūbi, what is it?! Speak up!" "It...It's Rider City. Its gone, Raian..! It's been attacked!" Yūbi gasped as exhaustion took hold. "We fought hard..but the others..." Raian's eyes shot open for the second time that day. His thoughts immediately went to Jacqueline, his son Hake, and the members of MisQ, who were in Rider City. Raian looked to Yūbi, hoping to beg him for an answer to how they were, but it was futile; Yūbi had passed out from exhaustion. Raian left the weakened Human in the medical wing of his barracks and marched straight the Senkaimon. The gate opened without incident and Raian was on his way to the Human World. Smoldering... The town was smoldering. Blue flames engulfed the entire town. The sight from the opening of the Senkaimon was of utter devastation. Raian couldn't even begin to comprehend what was going on. Had the world gone mad?! First his brother, now his home in the Human World? He reached the house next. Jacqueline was standing inside the ruined gates, Hake clinging to her right hip. Upon seeing him, she dashed across the yard and threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. "We fought them off, but the others..." Jacqueline began to say, tears filling her eyes. Still holding her, Raian's head swiveled to the nearby apartment buildings that MisQ called their home. There, stuck to the side of the building by a large spiritual energy halberd, was Bachi. She was dead. Jacqueline was now bawling uncontrollably, "She... wasn't the only one..." she sobbed, "The others... the flames... they consumed them..." Raian was horrified. His Human comrades were gone, his brother was gone. What in the world was going on?! He felt himself begin to quiver. Suddenly, he was on his knees, Jacqueline with her head buried into the back of his, and he with his head in the ground - both cried intensely. ..................... "How unsightly." Raian's eyes snapped open and his head jerked to the direction the words had come from. Hovering above them was a man in white garb, his arms folded. "To think Lord Akujin would care for such an unsightly man." End...